chapter seven sanchi : the visual...
TRANSCRIPT
CHAPTER SEVEN
SANCHI : THE VISUAL EVIDENCE
Great nations write their autobiogr<:tphies in three manuscripts;the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others. But of the three the ')nly quite trustworthy one is the last. (John Ruskin, quoted in Haskell 1993).
I
Historians have relied largely on literate traditions for undersanding the past. This
understanding condemns into silence the ex;periences of the larger s~gment ofhumanity.
The larger part of humanity organised its life around the act of seeing. Their gods and
demons, dreams and fantasies, war and peace, verily the entire gamut of their cultural
universe, did not require the written word. However, historians have largely relied on the
written word for understauding the past. This effectively shuts out vast multitudes from
the scope ofhist()ry. The homo-historicus of our part of the world is never shown to have
ever laughed or dreamt. This situation contrasts strangely with the depiction in art of
every form of social activity. This is because our training encourages us to privilege the
written word above everything else. The standard approach of historians to visual
evidence has been that of merely adding a section on the arts to an essentially political
narrative. Art historians, literary critics, and plain historians did not have much to say to
one another (Burke 1987:4). There is a need to incorporate art into the very structure of
the historical narrative.
If historians have been blind to the social milieu, art historians have rarely looked
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beyond the ouvre to the social milieu Absorbed in the internal analysis of the iconographv
and influences, they have commonly forgotten to ask who saw these pictures and what
impact they had. Perhaps there is a need for visual history to understand what they saw
In a largely preliterate context, a picture transmitted messages of power relations, religion,
morality and status. Next to the spoken language it was ~he most effective form of
communication and every sculpture carried with it a set ofmeanings An attempt to see
what people saw is long overdue. Perhaps there is a need for visual hi:;tOiy (Roy Porter
1988) The Sanchi inscriptions and friezes give us an opportunity to create an interfan·
bct\veen historv and art history This is because the in\criptions are cngr<l\ed on tlh.' Sttlpii
r.e. the visual e,·idence <~nd the written word have been conveniently put together
Works of art have been used for an understanding ofthe past in many cases l·or
example, a lot of our understanding of the Harappan or the Egyptian civilization dcnve:-,
from their art works. Similarly, the invention of the idea of the European Renaissance
owes much to the feeling for art. The idea of Renaissance as primarily the rebirth of arb
and letters to one that embraced every aspect of human history represents a broadenmg
of the idea of art history to cover all aspects ofhuma;1 endeavour (Haskell 1993 274-277 l
There is alv.ays the danger that the general impression that works of art give us of an
epoch is far more happy and serene than that which we discover from other sources. The
vision of an epoch resulting from the contemplation of works of art is always incomplet ·:
and always too favourable (ibid:490).
What is crucial to our argument is that we cannot understand the historic value of
Sanchi ifwe look only at Lhe manifest intentions ofthe artists who produced the Sanchi
friezes. 1
There is a need to understand the San chi friezes in the background of the cultural
tradition which defines the boundaries of what can be depicted and said. It is the cultural
universe which makes it possible for the artists at Sanchi to communicate with the patrons
and the viewers. What we are broadly hinting, at a distance of about 2000 years from
Sanchi, is that to be able to understand Sanchi we have to to understand the attitudes of
the creators of the message and the receivers of the message. In short, we have to try to
understand the world view of those times which bound the patrons as well as the clients.
It is difficult to understand the world view thrm~gh the study of art. However some
elementary exercises can be done. This can be based on the theoretical assumptions of
Bourdieu (1977). He has shown that one can understand a world view by a study of
1 Commenting on the artists of a different epoch Burke (1987:2) says , "Renaissance artists generally did more or less what they were told." Commenting on the famous painter Botticelli he says, "The role of painter which he played was the one defined by (or at any rate in) his own culture. In a sense this social definition of a role is a ~nd of constraint; we are all as the French historian Femard Braude! liked to put it, "imprisoned' by our assumptions, our mentalities.It is not possible to think all kinds of thoughts at all times as another French historian Lucien Febvre, used to say".
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attitudes encoded in daily life. The local conventions of eating, drinking, walking, talking,
or even falling ill can act as keys to understanding the cultural universe of a particular
society.
Cultural historians nowadays use a linguistic model for understanding the past.
This method starts with the assumption that culture is a form of communication. So the
research strategy involves an attempt to understand who is saying what to whom, in what
situations and through what channels and codes in a wide range of communicative evcnh
which between them make up a culture (Burke 1987 8) ; or our research purpose-. 11
would mean that we shall have to distinguish between different kinds of senders and
recipients of messages. The Stlider of the message would be the Buddhist church, and lb
repertoire comprised pictures of kings, priests and the pious, fabulous beasts and men !'he
recipients are as yet a vaguely understood class of Buddhist laity. We shall have to tl) and
understand the different purposes ofthe communicative events: to obtain obedience tu
spread the· truth'. The communication model also involves the stdc1:,· of hov. the spec tat o1 ·,
perceived or interpreted the messages !'heir minds \\Ul~ not like shc,.h ofhlank papl'I :'u:
\\ere tllled with stereotypes, assumptions, and habib l•fthought This 'Viii heir us tt• :-.tuth
both the form as \\ell as the contents ofthc message (Burke 1987 9) and avoid the pittalb
of earlier works which either studied the form or the content of the art work Nov. \\ e
know that forms are as culture specific as content and both are intrinsic parts of culture
as communication.
We shall also use statistical methods. This means that we shall break down the
details given in the panels to see whether they show any pattern of regularity It has been
said tha! statistics are speciously precise because the exact relation ofthe sample .:malysed
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to the world outside is uncertain. However, it will help us bring in various generalisations
about 3-ncient India into the realm of verifiable hypotheses. In any case historians,
implicitly use quantitative terms like more or less, rise and decline (Burke 1987: 1 0). So
it is better to explicate these terms and methods.
II
The most secret beliefs and ideals (of an age) are transmitted to posterity perhaps only through the medium of art and this transmission is all the more trustworthy because it is unintended. Jacob Burckhardt (Haskell 1993· 332)
Studies of ea.rly Buddhism have been dominated by rationalist interpretation. Early
Buddhism according to this view was a collection of moral and ethical principles. In the
later phases of its development it was encrusted with myths and legends. However, some
scholars have pointed out that even the earliest Buddhist texts carry a heavy load of
mythology. Buddhism did not negate myths and legends, rather, it created its own
hierarchy of.gods and demons with the Buddha at its (lpex. This part of Buddhism co-
existed with thaLwhich emphasised ethical and moral behaviour.
The study of the Gateways of San chi can. provide insjghts into the reljgious beliefs
of the early Buddhists. A study of these friezes shows that the cult of Stupa which was a
non monastic institution, and the cult of tree worship which was not associated with
Buddhism either, were more pop'ular themes than any of the ethical or moral teachings of
the Buddha. The Sanchi art was applied art with apracticalpurpose in mind. It was
probably meant to overwhelm the spectator through an extravagant display of pomp. Who
chose the scenes to be depicted?
It is believed that the Pali canon was written down in the First century B. C.
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(Dehejial997:6l ). The Pali canon is likeiy to have represented the codit!cation of a variety
of middle Ganga valley traditions. The Sanchi friezes \vould be roughly contemporar; with
the Pali canon available to us. It is likely that the artist at Sanchi was following au oral
tradition. This would make it easier to assimilate local traditions of worship. Alsa oral
traditions generally follow the "Great man theory of history" meaning that many people
and personalities are fused into one (Yansina 1985: 108). In other words, important
changes are believed to have been caused by a single heroic individual. In such a milieu
heroic lore could easily be assimilated into the Buddhist tradition, and the Bodhi~;at.t vas
become the carriers of the floating mass of popular nistory This view is supported bv the
fact that the earliest versians of the life of the Buddha do not mention many symbols
which we associate with Buddhism. The most remarkable factor in this recital is the entire
absence of any temptation by Mara. There is no mention of the famous tree under which
enlightenment was attained (Thomas, E.J. 1949:68). Obviously, Buddhism had latched on
to the rich repertoire of folk tradition. Since the Buddhism of the tarly centuries oft he
Christian era had already a vast repenoire of folk tales, we need to understand wh\ some
stories were depicted and not others. The friezes have a directness of appeaL a comcptl\•Il
of joy in very cleat cut earthy categories The Buddhist way of considering all '' orldh
pleasures as forms of suffering is simply not to be found Here are people smiling and
larking. Despair and dejection are completely missing. How do we explain it'' One
explanation could be that the San chi friezes are pictures of ideal worlds: the world of the
supernatural with its panoply of gods and the world of the past inhabited by ideal kings
and pious believers. Naturally, they had no reason to suffer The presentation of the past
as the ideal and the present as decadent and degenerate is a standard method of en::Orcing
norms of religion in many societies.
Agrawal believes that the reason for the depiction of celebration and gaiety on the
panels is that the Stupas symbolised the incarnation and release of the Buddha (Agrawal
1987: 136). However, the most likely explanation is that the pre-Buddhist cult ofYaksha
worship was appropriated by early Buddhism. The presence of Yaksha and Yakshini
figures in the early monuments is proof. People of various castes used to gather at the
Y aksha cult celebrations. Y akshas were worshipped with music, dance, lamps, flowers and
eatables (ibid.l27-129). Similarly, the Nagas, Kinnaras, Devas, Supamas, Lokapalas and 0
trees in Sanchi and Bharhut testify the assimilation of many anterior traditions (ibid.63)
Many of these traditions would have derived from local cult practices. Some of these
traditions would have celebratory modes of worship. It was probably the overwhelming
presence ofthese elements which explains the mood of joy and celebration at Sanchi.
The early Buddhist literature gives us some idea of how the Buddhist preachers
spread their message. This could give us some idea about the selection of the themes for
the Sanchi friezt::s. A tradition about the propagation ofBuddhism says:
If the Master was preaching to those who had left household life, he would emphasise such concepts as transitoriness of life and stress clearly the need for repentence. If the audience consisted of kings, princes and householders, then he would allude copiously to the secular literature and present it in beautiful literary language. If on the other hand the audience consisted of common people and country bumpkins, then he would use straight forward language based on experience; better still, he should resort to local terminology and just describe good or bad Karma. (Chen 1973:243)
Tht:: Sanchi evidence seems to be following some similar idea.
Along with Bharhut these were probably the earliest attempLs at planting
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Buddhism in a society where miracle was a better medium of communication than ethical
teachings. Talk ofthc misery of worldly existence could ill suit the prevailing mood of
gaiety and celebration.
We shall examine the Sanchi friezes for some specific details. In the preceding
chapters we tried to understand the process of emergence ofurba!' centres in the l\1ah\a
region. Now we shall examine the Sanchi tl-iezes to understand hm\ the artist visualised
physical space. This entails understanding the three major units of settlement - Cit~·.
Village and Forest. Since these physical units arc themselves representations of J sucial
universe, we shall begin by attempting to understand the world view of the art ish the
social order they visualised, and their conception of social power')
Ill
The Visual Evidence of Sanchi: A brief history
Sanchi presents us with rich visual evidence This probably explains why the \ 1sual
evidence was utilised from the earliest publication of books on Sanchi to understand ll and
its remains (Fergusson 1868). It was Sir John Marshall's (1940) monumental volumes
which systematically analysed the entire visual evidence found in the Stupas of Sanch1
These volumes tried to collate the visual evidence and located its parallels in the Jatakas
Many scholars have used the visual evidence to give us a picture of society in those times
(Dhavalikar 1965, Dehejia 1997).
Scholars like N.R.Ray ( 1975) have used the term, , popular art', for the Sanci1i
friezes He contrasted it with the imperial art of Asoka. This idea needs to be e)~amincd
Popular culture has been defined as the culture and tradition of the non-learned, the
unlettered, the non elite (Burke 1978:24). True the gathering in Sanchi was not imperial,
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but it was a distinguished gathering nevertheless. Ifthe testimony of the inscriptions is to
be believed the donors at Sanchi were members of a highly stratified society. Monks and
merchants, Greeks and residents ofDaktinapatha, imperial officers and manufacturers, all
came here. Nor is the art one of"artless simplicity" which c0uld be created by everyone
from the local community. It is complex, and created by a highly specialized set of
artisans. Also, the broader unity in theme and presentation with other, faraway Buddhist
sites requires a reformulation ofRay's understanding.
The Evidence ofRockArt
If any art form of early historic times qualifies to be called local and popular art,
it is the rock paintings of central India. This paintiQg tradition dates back to the
chalcolithic period and continues well into the historical period. Indian art is believed to
have been bifurcated in the early historic period. One was urban-centred art which was
open to outside influences and was patronised by courts and trading magnates. This art
was an expression of power and prestige. The rock pictures on the other hand belong to
a very autochthonOt!S world. It seems that the emergence of centralised polities and the
' coming ofBuddhism had little or no impact on the stylistic make up of this art (Neumayer
1993:211).
Many rock painting Site are located in the same areas as the early Buddhist caves
and Stupas. Sanchi and Virlisha have yielded rock paintii1gs (Misra 1982:3). Similarly the
famous Bhimbetka caves have yielded inscriptions indicating the presence of Buddhist
mendicants (Neumayer 1993: 17). At Narsinghgarh in the ~garh district several rock art
depictions of the Stu pas vrere found (Neumayer 1993: 18). What is interesting is that
despite their geographical proximity, the rock art and Sanchi art seem to have very little
220
influence on each other in stylistic tenns. This is all the more intri!:,ruing when we consider
the fact that rock painting is an anterior tradition. Normally one would expect the later
artists to copy the style and motifs from the earlier tradition. The rock paintings do shovi
technological details paralleling those ofthe early historic period. For example, people are
shown wearing clothes with long tassels and c1ps Similarly, there are depictions of
domesticated anitnals, chariots etc. (ibid.:39, 156). In the early Buddhist reliefs there was
an attempt to create tht illusion of three dimensionality, something which was nev~r
attempted in rock art. The Sanchi reliefs are caparisoned with tree and leaf patterns
something which is rare in i·ock at1. Probably, urban ar1 created an opportunity to look at
nature as an observed fact. To the creators ofrock art trees a11d flowers did not constitute
a novelty since they were part of it. Similarly none of the l~1bulous anin:als and motif~
depicted in Sanchi can be said to have been derived from the anterior rock an tradir10n
The discussion on the rock art of centra! India suggests that it was fashionco1n a
social environment not directly influenced by urban prestige art. Probably, in many case".
it was practised by communities on the periphery of urban ..;ociety. Comparisons betv\een
the ancient rock pictures and modern house wall pictures in Malwa show strono stvlist1c b -
and thematic analogies (NeLunayer 1993:270 - 71) Such analog;ies and compari~otb
suggest that the rock art was the true folk art in the period 200 B' ' - 1 00 A [)
The l~1ct that the Sanchi reliefs present a ditTcrent style compared to the antenor
rock art tradition suggests that the Sanchi art \vas not derived Jrqm local art tradrtions All
of Sanchi's mythical animals are missing in the rock art. Budd~~ist mythology and most of
the Buddhist art tradition arrived at Sanchi in finished form The fuct that the Sanchi art
did not pick up many things from the local art tradition ties in with our observation that
22l
Buddhism seems to have ignored the autochthonous p()pulation. Our study of the
inscriptions has shown that the donors at Sanchi were mostly people linked to an urban
environment.
Vidya Dehejia (1997) has studied the Sanchi friezes in the context of early
Buddhist art. She has shown that the artists at Sanchi and Bharhut used various methods
of presenting their visuals. There was the mono scenic mode in which a single scene from
the Buddha's or a Bodhisattva's life was supposed to represent an entire episode. Other
narrative styles were also used. The famous Vessantara Jataka is shown in a series of
twenty one scenes at Sanchi. The same Vessantara Jataka story is shown in one small
panel at Bharhut. What needs to be kept in mind is that these ways of representing the
Buddha or Buddhism seem to have depended on the preferences of the artists. The
different conventions of representation do not follow any chronological order. Dehejia has
pointed out that :.;tatic representations were regularly used where theological concerns
were predominant. The overwhelming presence of static monoscenic representation in
Sanchi points to the influence of monks on the visual narratives. The Sanchi friezes
provide us a privileged observatory. It is a world of social contrasts where various levels
of social reality met.
IV
The Stupas
Stu pas were funerary monuments. The evidence for the presence of the Stu pas is to be
found even in Vedic literature. The tumulus was built outside the inhabited area and was
quadrangular for those who accepted the Veda and circular for those who were of Asura
nature (Guiseppe De Marco 1987). It is believed to have been the earliest visual
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representation of the Buddha. in the Mahaparinibb3na Sutta the Buddha insi.FlCts his
followers that his funeral rites should be like those of a universal monarch. After the
cremation his bones were to deposited in a golden um and placed in a mound built at the
crossing of four roads. OtTerings of t1owers and garlands, banners, incense and music
characterised both the funeral rites themselves and the continuing worship of th~ Stupa
(ibid.). It is in this sense that the Stupa seems to have a magico-ritual value2 A pilgrim
visited the Stupa because it called to his mind the Buddha, whose remains were interred
in it With these relics mystery established its presence in the midst of the visible universe
The Stupa became a medium through which the Buddha was perceived. The Later
literature says that the Stupa is worthy of worship and reverence not only IJecause rt
contains relics but because its form symbolises the enlightened state of a Buddha Eacn
of its layers was believed to represent certain meanings (Eiiade 1987) Our main concern
is the study of the friezes around the Stopa of Sanchi Although the Buddha is identifit·d
with the Stupa, he is not represented in human form. The rich imagery of the tfiezes
suggests that at this time organised Buddhism may have been evolving methods of
assimilating and handling diverse local traditions. Probably, Buddhism was richer tn tts
practice than in its doctr~nal understanding
THE JATAKA STORIES
The Jatakas are part of the BGddhist lore. They tell stories of the Buddha's past
births. The representation ofthe Buddhist birth stories at Sanchi indicates that Buddhism
was appropriating the popular tradition of heroic tales. Every popular god or hero became
a Bodhisattva. But if Buddhism was appropriating popular stories, it was also being
. 2
We kno~ that in medieval Europe images were h::lieved to prevent plague, bring ram or prevent ram See B~lfke( 198 7 125)
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appropriated to the popular tradition. That is how numerous demigods and demons made
their entry into the friezes of Sanchi. The visual representation of the Jataka stories would
take the imagination of the viewer to the edge of wonderland. The friezes offered a
glimpse ofthe divine. The events depicted at Sanchi are mostly connected with the life of
the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas. These events depicted not so much their individual
achievements as social achievements. It represented some kind of a struggle not for
personal gain but for people's highest ideals. We shall examine the Sanchi friezes to find
out about the col!ective ideals ofthose times.
Who Selected The Stories To be.Shown on The Friezes
Modern examples from studies in Srilanka show that the pictures which are to be
exihibited are selected by the monks of the monastery (Margaret and Gombrich
1977:XXVI). Ins,~riptions at Bharhut describe a monk as a sculptor and another as a
superintendant of construction (Lamotte 1988:94). Dehejia believes that the scenes were
selected by the donors. This, according to her, is proved by the absence of any pattern in
the presentation of the stories. Similarly, the repetition of some stories on many
architraves also indicates that it was the donors who decided what was to be shown. The
donors had fluid capital which they could donate. This itself is related to a urban situation.
Sanchi is a celebration of emergent urbanism. We can assume that these friezes were the
product of the combined efforts of monks, artists and donors. The absence of planning can
be related to the fact that the resources for creating these art works were not available at
one time. Static presentation of events is believed to be related to the predominance of
theological concerns (Dehejia 1997: 12). Such concerns would inform the art works where
monks have a greater inf1uence compared to patrons or artists. The Sanchi gateways
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provide many examples of monoscenic and static friezes, indicating that many of the
stories were selected by monks. That artists too had an important role in the creation of
these friezes is evident from the fact there is considerable variation in tht quali~y of
treatment of subjects at San chi. The artists had to decide how to portray the actors, how
to represent the space in which the story occurs, and how to shape the time during which
the story unfolds (ibid.l 0). Variations in the treatment of the same story indicate that
artists had considerable freedom in making choices about the mode of narration The
tigures of Kumbhandas at San chi might have been a Central Indian contribution to the ., -
Buddhist art tradition. While the gods at Sanchi are stereo-typed and dull. tlw
Kumbhandas are dynamic and volatile Mara's army for example, i~ a collection of' i\ 1dh ••
portrayed Kwnbha~11a figures. This powerful representation of thE' :aces of evil represenh
one of the high points of San chi art. Buddhist mythologv b.:lieves that Kumbh~mdas \\ L'lc - .. residents oft he South (Malalasekera) Was, the South of early i~uddhist mytholog\. the
Avanti region'J' The ewer used by prince Vessantara is very Central Indian in shape \\ e
do not tind such vessels in the archaeology of the heartland of Buddhism All these !~tct"
suggest that the Sanchi friezes were the pmduct of a complex interaction hew cu1 r ih
lll\lllastery, patrons and artists
Who Received The Message of The Friezes ?
... and there will come Anand a, to such spots, believers, brethren and sisters
3 We shall discuss this problem in the chapter on literatary references to Malwa
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of the order or devout men and devout women (Mahaparinibbana Sutta) (Dehejia 1997:38)
The inscriptions from donors at Sanchi show that the pilgrims covered a whole
range of social categories and classes. The visuals showing kings, merchants and other
people praying at the Stupa also support this evidence. The quotation above speaks of
those who are already Buddhist, and others, devout men and women who are _presumably
not Buddhist, visiting these shrines. Examples of patronage of different religious groups
by the same royal family are common. It seems to us that the creators of the friezes had
a large non - Buddhist audience also in mind. While the monoscenic presentations would
require familiarity with Buddhist mythology, the narrative ones could be more_generally
understood. In such cases these friezes were an instrument of proselytizing. In fact, the
numerous fabulous animals and supernatural beings can be understood as an attempt to
incorporate diverse traditions in Buddhism. This would attract the potential viewer who
saw some of his gods honoured in the Buddhist pantheon. Monk guides are also
meutioned in some inscriptions (Dehejia 1997:33 ).
v
The Hierarchical Conception of the Universe
Power of any !<ind must be clothed in effective means of displaying it, and will have different efTects depending upon how it is dramatized (Goffman 1971 :241). ·
To the pilgrims who visited Sanchi the world was neatly divided along hierarchical
lines. The Buddha was ~eated on the summit of this hierarchy followed by monks,
monarchs, merchanl:s and people of all hues. It was not only humanity which was part of
this ladder-like arrangement; the natural and super-natural worlds too hinged on this
226
principle of organisation. The seven heavens atop each other, the seven trees of wisdom
which sheltered the seven Buddhas, and numerous other things seem to have followed this
arrangement. To the viewers of the Sanchi friezes, the world was peopled by various
categories of b~ings like Devas, Lokapalas, Y akshas, Suparnas and Kumbhandas who ~. ., 0
could be graded along a vertical scale. These notions of hierarchy permeated and informed
the world view of the creators of these friezes to such an extent that when they
represented the Bodhisattva as an elephant or a monkey, he was shown as having some
special attributes (see for example pl.64a1 S) Every event, every action was given a
solemn form Incidents like journey or visits were attended by a thousand formalities and
ceremonies. Kings moved about with glorious displays of arms, announct'd by
processions, and music (see for example pl.Il.2L). In a largely non-literate world, religion
was essentially a matter of rites, gestures and formulae Birth, death, and \var. had all
assumed the character of a spectacle. All actions, mirth am1 sorrow were theatricallv made
up. Life had the colours of a fairy tale with the omnipresent Yakshas, Gandharvas and
Rakshasas. The depictions cf processions with their ordereJ lines of participants, m rank
one after the other, served well to express differences in st e1tus (Trainor 1996 J
Processions of powerful kinsmen and allies represent lhe influence that an individual had
over the rest of society. The way people prayed, the way they howed, walked, and talked
were related to exercise of symbolic power.
The Sanchi fi·iezes shO\v a variety of dresses It is clear tL<:t the artists knc\\ th<!l
dresses or turbans could define a person fen the viev\ers We !.!.Ct similar referenccs i11 - .
Patanjali (Agnihotri 1965:203) Unf011unately,·, we do not have clues to such distinctions
Some things are obvious. There is a marked difference in the treatment of the rovaltv - 0 '
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aristocracy and peasants on the one side, and tile foresters, Brahmanas and Sramanas on
the other. While the dresses are more or less similar, some people wear turbans and many
kinds of ornaments. Presumably they represented the aristocracy.
The Sanchi fi iez~s are peopled by males. Women are less visible. Also, the village
scenes from Uruvilva gama and the Vessantara Jataka clearly define the role ofwomen
(see pl.23a.l, 25.1,29.3, 31.1, 52.a2,a3). They are shown engaged injobs like husking
and winnowing grain, and fetching water - in short, household activities which still
constitute the world of Indian women. However, when women are depicted alongside
men, they are not shown in subservient postures. The North Indian Brahmanical
conventions would describe women following men while walking. They would be seated
to the left of their husbands while performing rituals (Kane 1963:302). At Sanchi no such . .
pattern in walking or sitting is visible. This would indicate that the artists had not
internalised the north Indian tradition. Alternatively, this might indicate the relatively
better condition of women in these areas. Men are shown performing sacrifices and
preaching, performing asceticism, hunting and fighting battles. The male and female
worlds were thus clearly demarcated. This bifurcation was connected to the emergence
of state society. Thus, the Sanchi friezes represented a world of hierarchies. It was within
this world of contrasts that the political structure was located. Let us see how the artists
at Sanchi viewed royalty.
The Depktion of Royalty at San chi
At Sanchi, gods and goddesses seem to outnumber human bei~gs. If we were to
grade the r0le3 and beings depicted on the Sanchi friezes, the representations of the
Buddha top the list. Next come gods of various kinds followed by kings. There is a
228
remarkable assymetry between the visual evidence and the inscript:onal evidence. While
royal patronage is completely missing in the inscriptional evidence of this period, friezes
are full of royalty. To us it proves that in the Buddhist ideology monarchy was an
accepted fact by this period. In the depiction of the Shadhanta Jataka, Shadhanta, the
elephant king, is shown with royal insignia like Chauri and umbrella-bearer. Kings always
seem to be served by a Chauri bearer and a person with weapons.
In order to understand the character and role of kingship at Sanchi \'. c \\ill
c:-.:amine the instances \vhere the arti~t has chosen to depict royalty Om as~ti:nplJorh ~uc
based on the identifications made by \1arshall ( 1940) They identified the Sand11 panels
on the basis of parallels found at Bharhut, where the contents of the panels arc e:-.:plained
by inscriptions. They supplemented this information by finding parallel deta1ls fi·om
Buddhist mythology One handicap we face in these identifications is that king:-, <end gods
are depicted in the same mode. Their dresses, turbans, umbrellas and tly wh1sk~ arc the
same. On the one hand it shows how important monarchy was in the Buddhi~l _,l·hcnK· ul
things. On the other hand, it ~reates problems of identification in the smaller par;cb \\her~..·
the figure might be a supernatural being. The larger panels do not present such problems
of identification. We shall therefore rely on the larger panels for our generalis<1tions I .:t
us list the scenes in which kings and divinities are depicted. We shall also enlist the
accompanying entities. We shall leave out all depictions where gods and heavens <lre
unambiguously identified. Nor will we consider such portrayals as the elephant king in the
Shadfanta Jataka who has been shown with umbrella and fly whisk, the monkey king
shown as being much larger than the other monkeys, or the Naga king with multiple
hoods
229
PLATE
NO.&
SIZE
11.2 L
12.2 s
12.6 s
115.3 L
16.3
17.3
DEPICTION OF KINGSHIP AT SANCHI
LEGEND MARKS OF ROYALTY
ASOKA'S. TURBAN, EWER, FLY-WHISK, BAND PLAYERS
VISIT INFANTRY, CAVALRY, ELEPHANTS, CHARIOTS AN
TO UP ARAJA. ON THE LEFT THE NAGA KING SPORTS A
- - -RAMAGAMA ROYAL TURBAN AND FIVE HOODS, UP ARAJA HAS
UNKNOWN
UNKNO\VN
WAR
RELICS
THREE HOODS WHILE THE QUEENS AND SERVANTS
HAVE ONE HOOD ONLY.
TURBAN,FL Y WHISK, ELEPHANT,A PALACE IN THE
BACKGROUND.(COULD BE A KING OR DIVINITY.)
TURBAN, HORSE, STAGS
OF CHARIOT, ELEPHANT, CAVALRY, INFANTRY, TURBAN,
UMBRELLA, STANDARD BEARERS, DWARF, CITY.
230
18.a2 S ASOKA VISITS TURBAN, CHARTOT, ELEPHANT, VICEROY, HERALD
BODI-II-TREE WITH A CLUB, SUITE, PERSON HOLDING A PITCHER.
18.b2 s ASOKA VISITS TURBAN, UMBRELLA, QUEENS, PITCHER
THE BODHI
TREE
11-----1-------+----------------------
23.al 25 1 VESSANTARA QuEENS, VICEROY (UPARAJA), ELEPHANT, CHARIOT, I I
29.3 31.1 JATAKA HORSE, UMBRELLA_ TURBAN, FLY - WHISK EWER
33.1 L CITY, SENIOR CITIZENS, MUSICIANS_
1----··--------+----------4------------------ ---- -----· --------------
3·1 a I S THF- PRODIGY TLRBA~. VICEROY. Ci< )()S
/ ~ -ATSRAVASTI
I I II I
I
--------r---------lr------------------------- ----
34.a3 S THE PRODIGY TURBAN, COURTIERS_
/- -ATSRAVASTI
34.bl s VISIT OF VICEROY. TURBAN. HORSE, CITY, RO'r'AL
PRASENAJIT A PROCESSION_
231
35.a2 s BUDDHA ALL THE ARISTOCRATS SHOWN WEARING ROYAL '
VISITS TURBAN.
KAPILVASTU
..
-35.b2 s AJATSATRU TURBAN, UMBRELLA, CHARIOT,MUSICIANS,
LEAVING IDS STANDARD BEARERS, ELEPHANT, FOOTMEN, '
CAPITAL
35.b3 s AJATSATRU'S TURBAN, FEMALE ATTENDANTS, SOME
VISIT SUPERNATURAL BEINGS.
36.c3 S RETURN TO TURBAN, UMBRELLA, FLY WHISK, FEMALE
KAPILVASTU ATTENDANTS, COURTIERS
40.3 L ASOKA VISITS UMBRELLA, FLY WHISK, BAND OF MUSICIANS,
THE BODHI INFANTRY, WAR CHARIOT, ELEPHANT,DWARFS.
TREE
50.al L RETURN TO TURBAN, CHARIOT, ELEPHANT, HORSE, INFANTRY,
KAPIL VASTU MUSICIANS, PROCESSION, CITY
232
Sl.b S A ROYAL I FLY WHISK, CHARIOT, ELEPHANT, COURTIERS, CITY.
VISIT
611 L I TRANSPORT I ELEPHANT, FLY WHISK, UMBRELLA, MUSICIANS,
62.1 631 I OF THE I STANDARD BEARERS, CAVALRY. INFANTRY,
RELICS PROCESSION, CITY.
I --- ------,
61.2 L THE wAR OF I TURBAN, UMBRELLA, FLy WHISK, ELEPHANT' EWER, I RELICS CHARIOT, CAVALRY, INFANTRY, CITY, MUSICIANS
lr----------~--------------+---------------------------------------------------
62.2 s UNKNOWN TURBAN, UMBRELLA, CHARIOT, CAVA~BY. lr'\F \NTRY
I ------- ------
63.2 s UNKNOW\i TURBAN. UMBRtJ .LA. FLY-WHISK, PALACE. ARM-
CHAIR, EWER FEMALE ATTENDANTS
I ----
64.al S
65.al S
MAHAKAPI
JATAKA
TURBAN, HORSE, SWORD BEARER, MUSICIANS,
SERVANTS.
THE SY AMA I KING DRESSED AS A HlJNTER IN ONE SCE\!E WEARING
-JATAKA TURBAN IN ANOTHER.
SAND L STAND FOR SMALL AND LARGE FRfEZES
233
The table presented above gives us some idea of the way the artist visualised
kingship. True, the artist would be limited by the contents of the story and the space
available to him. However, the very limitation of space would force him to select motifs
which could easily communicate the idea of kingship to the spectators. The depicted
motifs may thus be assumed to have been those which were considered the essence of
royalty. It is significant from our point of view that of the 23 representations of royalty,
seven are large iE size, meaning that they covered an architrave and sometimes spread to
the reverse side 1oo. In all seven the king is accompanied by an army. While some
represent all four constituents of the army, i.e., elephant corp, cavalry, chariots, and
infantry, others represent some of them. One can argue that some of the representations
are necessitated by the theme ofthe story. For example, in 'The War of Relics' the artist
is likely to show the army. However, we find that there are variations in the
representations of' The War ofRelics.' The variations in thepresentation have a lot to do
with artistic quality. However, it also indicates that artists consciously introduced
significant variations. Instead of showing a war in progress, they chose to show kings
going to the city ofKusinagara or coming from it. Significantly, every scene had its own
compliment of armed retainers. Even in depictions of Asoka's visit to Ramagama or the
Bodhi tree (themes which did not require the presence of an army) armed retainers are
. I conspicuous. The story of the Buddha's return to Kapilvastu also shows king Suddhodana
followed by the four limbs of the army. Nor does the Vessantara Jataka fail to show
horses, chariots and elephants when the king comes to the forest. The smaller panels are
too small to tell stories. So, the artists prefer to show genre pieces like praying figures.
Even among the shorter pieces depicting royalty we find that in 8 out of 16 cases warriors,
234
horses or elephants are shown in association. Elephants or horses w~re status symbols but
we also know that they were used in wars. To us this evidence su&gests that in the minds
of the sculptors of San chi instruments of coercion and aggress:on were an indispensable
part of kingship. War scenes and conflict are a recurrent theme ;,1 the it·iezes
King And Political Power: The Violent Tenor of Life
The turban. Chauri, umbrella and ewer are personaL ritt~al marks of kingship
These however, are almost universally supplemented by the army which symtolises the
coercive machinery of state power. Interestingly, in a religion given to non vi olE nee_ the
"battle of relics'' became one ofthe most important symbols. "The battle of relics" 1s not
part of the Buddha's teachings or of his previous lives It is the story of an event
subsequent to the death of the Buddha. Apparently, numerous kings fought fnr the
remains ofthe Buddha. The idea was to impress the laity by emphasising the value of the
Buddha's remains even to kings. It is interesting these kings could not settle their
differences by peaceful negotiation as would be expected of ardent Buddhists Seize and
warfare became the central motif for the relics of the person who stood for a:1 ideal E 1
exact opposition to war. Such a contrast needs explanation. What seems to have been at
work was the hijacking of the peaceful monastic ideal by the power centred royal idrai
In the limited space of the architraves available to him the sculpwr had to depict
something meant for propaganda purposes. It was meant to be witnessed by a largely n0 ,1-
literate laity. So, when t!~c artist had to depict rcoyalty, he chose such motifs as he belie·;ed
the observer would understand readily.
There has been for sometime a debate on the nature of political power in Indian
history. Some scholars have emasculated royal authority of its coercive power altogethe;-
23S
(Burton Stein 1977). They have replaced it with the idea of ritual authori.ty. One way of . .
examining this notion would be to try and understand how an average artist perceived
kingship. An?-lysis of contem.porary writi~gs and perceptions aboat the nature of political
power would give us a better understanding of the nature of early Indian polity. The
essence of r9yalty for the artists in Sanchi, and by extension. to the myriad viewers, was
war and army. Some scholars seem to be confusing the issues of power and the ability to
wield power. Questions like how the_ political authority would control faraway portions
of its domain, are valid questions. They can be examined empirically because the political
authority would have found different ways of enforcin~ its dictat dependin~ upon the
geographical and historical . . 4
SituatiOn.
4 We get some idea about the functioning of royal power from the better documented caseof medieval Europe. The authority of the king was based on a permanent state of war and a small group of nobles related to each other by kinship ties. Yet at the end of the season for warfare, when each of the nobles went back to his territory he was the absolute master with the king exercising little or no control (Duby 1982:5). Nobles will maintain their nominal allegiance. This balance of power between the king and his governors shou'd not be mistaken for the absence of coercion as a mode of control.
236
If the perception of political po·wer of the artist from San chi is anything to go by,
coercion and force seem to represent the essence of royalty. The king i:; also depicted as
protector in the case of the Mahakapi Ja:taka. There are numerous depictions of roy&!
figures praying to the Stupa. Whether he is praying for himself or acting as the mediat0r
between the sacred world and the human society, is not clear to us. However, the image
of the king as protector and religious benefactor of his people needs to be understood as
a strate.!;,ry of power. Such an image represented the most economic forms of control in a
world where direct application of overt physical violence was very expensive ( Bourdieu
1977: 192). The depiction of what follows 'the war of relics' reveals to us the pov.er of the
invisible presence of the Buddha. The kings are shown seated on elephants and chariots,
carrying caskets containing the relics of the Buddha The royal ensign of umbrella is used
more for the casket than for the kings (plate 15) Some of the kings are shtm '' ..:arrYing
the casket on their heads. What is being shown rs that not one but seven kings \vere
willing to risk every thing tor the sake of the relics of the Buddha. The worshiptl.il stan~..:c
of the powerful and prosperous kings was bound to overawe the viewer The gesture of
prayer was as much a depiction of olden times when saints were given due importance.
as a message to the laity abPut following the path of piety. After all, Sanchj also contamed
relics of Buddhist saints
VI
City , Village And The Forest
In a senes of a11icles written in the thirties ('(h>marswanw ( \Ieister ]992)
published an exhaustive survey of buildings associated with citie~ It was a pioneering
attempt at combining insights fro;n literature with the evidence available from
archa~ology. A lot of this information was derived from Sanchi. He devoted another
article to the study of huts in ancient India. He tried to show how many of the larger
buildings and religious structures were derived from the basic shape of the hut In the
prese:1t section we shall not be concerned with the visible structures associated with cities.
Rather we shall try to understand the association between buildings and the human
activities associated with them.
Built environments are governed by the ideology of the age, the composition and
organisation of the society, religious beliefs and world view. Environments are thought
before they are built. There is a close correspondence between the built form and its socio
cultural organisation (Singh and Khan1993). This means that the built environment can
give us clues about social status, power and spatial forms of ordering society. We shall try
to understand the Sanchi sculptors' ways of seeing Let us see how cities villages and
fm·ests are depicted in the friezes. We have excluded very small panels because in most
cases it is difficult to understand. their context.
CITIES
PLATE EPISODE CHARACTERISTICS I
NO
238
15 3 WAR OF RELICS STOREYED TOWERS AND BASTIONS, PL\ STEREO
16 3
17.3
-16.1 MAHABHI-
NISKRAMANA &
GATEWAYS, TIJ\11BERED SUPERSTRUCTURE, VAULTED
ROOF, PILLARED BALCONIES,DITCH, WALLS MADE OF
BIG BRICKS OR STONES BATTLEivlENTS ARMIES AND ' '
KINGS RANGED IN BATTLE.
KAPILVASTU GATE SHOWN AS A SINGLE TORAT\JA
WITH TWO LINTELS ARCHED AND CURLED TO THE I FORM OF VOLUTES AT BOTH ENDS, ARISTOCRATIC
FIGURES.
11----+----------1------------------------------
-23.al VESSANTARA
3 1.1 JATAKA
ROYALTY,ARISTOCRACY. WOMEN FILLING WATER
JARS FROM THE MOAT OUTSIDE THE RAMPART,
EVERY li'-:CH OF SPACE FILLED WITH PEOPL.F
lr----t--------+ ---------------------·-------
34.al THE GREAT KING, COURTIERS.
PRODIGY AT
/- -SRAVASTI
239
34.a2 GIFT
JETAVANA
OF ANATHAPINDAKA, PRINCE lETA, PARK, OTHER
FOLLOWERS, COINS.
34.a3 . THE GREAT KING, COURTIERS, OPEN HALL OF OBLONG SHAPE.
PRODIGY AT
! /
' SRAVASTI
34.bl PRASENAJITA'S KING, COURTIERS, MULTI STORIED BUILDINGS,
VISIT GATEWAY, FORTIFICATION.
35.al FOUR DRIVES MULTI STORIED BUILDINGS, CITY GATE,
AND THE GREAT, FORTIFICATION, PEOPLE, ARISTOCRATIC LOOKING
DEPARTURE ONLOOKERS.
35.a2 RETURN TO ARISTOCRATS.
KAPILAVASTU
35.b2 BIMBISARA'S MULTI STORIED BUILDINGS, FORTIFICATION,
VISIT GATEWAY, PROCESSION, ONLOOKERS
240
36.cl THE FOURTH MALLAS DANCING AROUND A STUPA WITH BAND
GREAT MIRACLE PLAYING.
36.c2 MONKEY'S MONKEYS, PRA YlNG FIGURES,
OFFERING AT
VAISHALI
36.c3 RETURN TO KING, ATTENDANTS, COURTIERS
KAPILA V ASTU
If----+-------+-------------------··-·---
40.2 THE GREAT LOGGIAS OF AIRY HOUSES_TOWERS,BATTLEMET'<TS I I
DEPARTURE AND GATES, INHABITANTS TAKiNG AIR '" THEIR
BALCONIES OR GOING ABOUT THE STREETS ON FOOT
OR ON ELEPHANTS, WOMEN DRAWING WATER FROM
MOAT
SO.al RETURN TO MULTI STORIED BL'ILDINGS ON T\VO SIDES ()F THr·:
I I STREET_ CITY GATE_ PROCESSIOT\ R0\'~\-1 TY. ;\JI
~===-==~==========~=L=A=R=G='E='=N=L=I'vl=B=E=R=(=)f=·=o=N=L=O=O=K=E=R=S=.=======
KAPIL\ \'ASTU
241
51.b ROYAL VISIT PALACES, CITY GATE, FORTIFICATION, KING AND
PROCESSION.
61.1 PROCESSIONAL PALACES ON TWO SIDES OF THE ROAD, GATEWAY~
TRANSPORTATI FORTIFICATION, KING, SOLDIERS, PROCESSION,
161.2
il
ON OF RELICS ONLOOKERS.
WAR OF RELICS PALACE, FORTIFICATION, GATEWAY, KINGS, ARMY,
PROCESSION.
65.b2 CONVERSION OF ARISTOCRATS WITH ROYAL TURBAN
/_ THE SAKYAS
Cities are identified primarily by their fortifications. This notion about the nature
of cities is important to us. In the imagination of the carver, the city was, not so much a
centre of luxury and palaces, as of defence. A town did not lose itself in the surrounding
wilderness. It stood as a compact whole bristling with towers. Town walls symbolised
security and human r.chievement. This is in consonance with archaelogical finds which
show that almost all early historic cities were were fortified. In Malwa itself we have the
examples ofUjjain, N~gda and Eran being fortified in early historic times. The fact that
archaeologists working on early urban centres have noticed the paucity of evidence of
242
luxuries inside the early historic cities (Erdosy 1988: 113) is of particular inte:-est to us.
Two and three storied houses along the street are vividly portrayed. Also the
artists fill in every inch of space with human beings when they depict cities. Thus, cit1es
are associated \\~th density of population and buildings rising up to the skies. Primary food
production activities and shopkeepers' lanes are completely missing from the depiction of
cities. Specially arranged parks, avenues and gardens were characteristically urban
features. It represented :1ature, domesticated and owned by the rich and the powerful of
the city. It was probably the same set of people who are depicted walking about in fuil
splendour, relaying messages of power. Festivals seem to have been manifestations ofthe
power and money ofurban centres.
When the artists thought of heayen they envisaged it as a city. Thev imag!ned
events related to the Buddha or the Bodhisattva most often against an urban backgdrop
I -Whether it is the repeated portrayal of the miracle at Sravasti, or the grand narrative of
the Vessantara Jataka, the venue is a city. If the world has to be renounced. the artist
selects a grand view of Kapilavastu to annouce the greatness of the Buddh;:t If prince
Vessantara gives away every thing demanded of him, the artist chose the Sibi capital as
his venue. Obviously, the towers and palaces of the cities were envisioned not simplv as
impressive buildings but to highlight the glorious stories of renunciation and conquest
Our table shows that towns are associated with kings ,,,,d aristocrats in almost all the
cases. Such images of the sity confirm it as a place of power and privilege Signiticantly.
the images seem to ha·;e excluded the poor and the \vTetched from the urban spaces
because they are nowhere visible.
VILLAGE Al\0 THE FOREST
243
PLATE, EPISODE CHARACTERISTICS
NO.
11.2 ASOKA VISITS FOREST HAD RECLAIMED THE STUPA. FOREST SHOWN
RAMAGAMA AS FILLED WITH THE NAGA PEOPLE
25.1 VESSANTARA VILLAGE PEOPLE, TWO PEASANT WOMEN SITTING
-JATAKA WITH THEIR CHILDREN, TWO PEASANTS
SHOULDERING SPEAR AND BOW. TWO PEASANTS
RETURNING AFTER A HUNT CARRYING HAUNCHES OF
ANTELOPE.
33.1 VESSANTARA ZONE BETWEEN VILLAGE AND THE FOREST.MANGO
-JATAKA TREE SHOWN. WILD ANIMALS SHOWN SEPARATELY.
29.3 VESSANTARA FOREST FULL OF MANGOES, PLAINT AIN, WILD
-JATAKA ANIMALS WHERE VESSANT ARA AND HIS FAMILY
WEAR BARK DRESS AND LIVE IN LEAF HU'" J.
27.1 EKASRINGA LEAF HUT IN THE FOREST. BRAHMAN ANCHORITE,
-JATAKA ANIMALS.
244
46.2 BUDDHA GOES LARGE NUMBER OF ANIMALS.
TO FOREST
43.3 RAMA GAMA LARGE NUMBER OF ELEPHANTS.
STUPA
~----+------------r-- ---------------------------------~1
52.Al URUVILVA HERDS OF CATTLE, BUFFALOES AND GOATS AMONG
THE HOUSES. WOMEN ARE GRINDTNG CURRY POWDER,
WINNOWING RICE. HUSKING RJCE, ROLLING DOUGH
FETCHING WATER IN A PITCHER MEN ALSO SHOWN
CARRYING BURDE'\JS 0'\J GA\1!800 ?OLE
!••••. -·~-----------·-t--------------·----------- -- ...... ·-ll 52:\2 ! l~Rl 1\'IL\ .. \ TEI\:lPLF CTPOL:\ R-\ISUJ ON PILL-\R. Ill.,. \\TI'll
A3 LEAFY ROOF, ANCHORITES IN BARK DRESS. HLARTHS
AND SPOON FOR VEDIC SACRIFICE, ELFPHANT.
ANTELOPES, BUFFALOES, MONKEYS AND GEESE
- -65.A I SY AMA JATAKA FOREST, HUTS , TREES AND BEASTS OF THE
HERMITAGE.
245
Villages At Sanchi
The visual evidence is largely architectural in its presentation. Villages are typified
by round huts (in the scenes from the Vessantara Jataka and the Uruvela grama). In the
representation ofthe Uruvela grama two types of houses are shown- rectangular, with
wagon headed roofs, and circular with hemispherical roofs. Probably, they were the
houses of the rich and poor people respectively- a supposition supported by inscriptional
material from Sanchi and the writings of the contemporary grammarian Patanjali (Agrawal
1996:201). At least some of the villages had protective walls (platel5).
In the scene depicting the Uruvila village various kinds of domestic activities are
shown. It shows women filling water jars, husking corn, winnowing com, preparing food
and grinding spices. Occupations related to the processing and cooking of food seem to
be th~ province of women. Many of these activities are performed inside the house in
modem villages. The chores related to cooking are taken special care of because there is
fear of ritual i~purity by the touch or sight of people of other castes. These activities
depicted as being performed in the open lead to some intersting questions. Possibly these
areas were less influenced by Brahmanical ideology which fostered the idea of the ritual
pollution offood. Even more interesting could be the issue relating to people's lives within
the house. Is it possible that people spent a considerably larger part of their lives outdoors
than they do at present?
In the scene from the V essantara Jataka, people are shown returning to the village
with hunted deer. According to Marshall, it is meant to indicate the proximity of the
forest: However, the people carrying deer are dressed like villagers. To us it indicates a
246
very important preoccupation of the pre-modern villagers- that ofhunting and foraging
in the forest. The archaeological remains from settlements like Navdatoli attest to the
presence of a large me as Pre of forest food in the form of bones of v,.iJd animals and seeds
of wild fmits. Possibly, the entire tradition of renouncing the world and retinng to the
forest owes something to the plentiful availabili ry of food in the forest.
Forest people are clearly distinguished from ':he people of the agricultural
societies. Forest huts were made with leaves (pi 29, 27, 52). The forest people sport
beards and a topknot rising in a bush on the head. Along with ascetics, thev are shown
wearing bark dresses. The other attendar,t features of the forest are wild animals and
many fmit laden trees. The depiction of the forest and its denizens at Sanchi shows that
it was not a hostile place. The general attitude to nature and animals is suffi.ised with ideas
of peace and harmony. In the Vessantara Jataka the forest is shown as nourishing \vith
food and shelter. It is also the place of meditation and prayer. The people inhabiting it arc
as devoted to the Buddha as those of the cities. It is believed to be an enduring human
tendency to project upon the natural world categories and values derived !'rum human
society and then to serve them back as a critique or reinforcment of the human society
(Thomas, K. 1983 61 ). The Huddhist notion of the forest is different from the dominant
Brahmanical tradition which visualises the forest as the abode of e\ il demons thouoh also =-
of hermits.
Conclusion
Our study ofthe Sanchi triezes gives us an idea of how the artist di' idL'd the "P<KL'
into city,\ illage and forest .\stud) of the architecture shm\s that, itil"s \\l'I"L' associated
with fortification and palaces while villages had humble d\vellings r·orests were associated
247
with huts made with leaves. Cities seem to have been bustling with people; villages less
so and forests were almost bare of human beings. Patanjali ditferentiated towns and cities
simply in terms of the ilumber of people, however the exa~~t numbers should be left to the
local tradition (Agrawal l996:vi). 5 Although the artists depict village areas by portraying
food processing and procurement they ignore such activities for the towns. Patanjali said
that all the economic activities performed in the cities are found in villages too
(Agnihotri 1965: 115). To the artist at Sanchi, the most visible sign of the urban landscape
w~.s kings and nobility. This category is absent in the depictions of villages and forests. As
such, concentration of power and density of relationships seem to differentiate a city from
a village in the mind of the San chi artists.
We have to visualise Sanchi and its environs as part of a landscape where villages
and cities dotted vast forest tracts inhabited by people beyond the pale of state and
urbanism. This notion is supported by the observations ofPatanjali. He mentions different
ways of demarcating the village boundary. These could be signs proclaiming the village
5 According to a tradition, Patanjali, the famous grammarian of the second century B.C., belonged to Gonarda in Malwa (Agnihotri1965:55). This view is also substantiated by the fact that he picks up many examples from Malwa to illustrate rules of grammar. Thus, his observations about towns and villages could give us insights into the roughly contemporary towns and villages.
248
boundary, rivers, monutains, scrub or forest. However, the forest was an ever present
reality for the village. It can be concluded from examples where villages are shown as
surrounded by forests (Agnihotri 1963: 186). Illustrating a grammatical rule Patanjali says
that crops could be destroyed by thieves, domestic dnir.Ja!s, birds and wild animals
(ibid.258). Even more revealing is the information that people used to accompany their
friends and relatives to the margins of the forest when they were going away The forest
was also the arena t(x sp011s and games (ibid 27:)) Oh,:iously. the itr.mediacy of the f(m:st
/ \Vas taken for granted. Similarly, the route connecting Kausambi and Pratisthana ts
• 0
believed to have passed through forests (Agrawal ]l)l)() :233)
In the Sanchi reliefs, the very number of people depicted as filling vatious social
roles is remarkable. If we compare it to the pre urban paintings in the caves the . ariety of
subjects will be apparent. For that matter it can be compared with the site finds of pre
urban centres like Navdatoli where the number of objects used by the populace very
... -~;-':'.";_~~-~--1_1~ <1_\/~,~~c~n~ ~~b- ~~~~i_o~.!~e society seems to be divided among various groups
with kings, nobles, merchants, monks etc. at one end and ascetics, villagers. fort-. " and
beggars at the other. On a horizontal plane the canvass is even bigger. Events "vhich were
believed to have taken p!ace in faraway Magadha, Kapilavastu etc. are brought within tl1e
canvass of the sculptor. Motifs like double humped camel might be derivt:d from far away
Bactria. It speaks of the contacts between the artistic traditions of Central Indian ar.d
Central Asia.
There has been some discussion on the role of monasteries le~itimising political
power. Legitimation is defined as the means by which ideology is blended \Vith power. It
is used to justif}r the existence of concentrated social power in the hands of a fev.. s~1 ch
249
a fcrmulation presumes that the political elite juggled with Buddhist ideology to
strengthen its claims. It seems to be a simplistic formulation. The post-Mauryan period
was one of breakdown of centralised polities. 6 Interestingly, the religious structure seems
to encompass a larger area than the political structure. Also, it is more vivid in the mind
of the artists. A comparison of the friezes and a study of the inscriptions gives us an
understanding ofthe levels of religious integration in those times. This seems to contradict
the notion that poiities extended patronage to monasteries for gaining legitimacy. What
comes as a surprise is that the level of political integration is the weakest and area covered
by it is perhaps the smallest All the stories in the friezes look north. This could have
provided very little opportuni~y for the local polities to tailor the mythologies to their own
ends. Also, the Buddhist ~hurch did not have a unitary structure. All the monasteries were
virtually independent of each other. As such, Buddhi <;m did not have the large-scale
network which could act as mediator between polity and populace.
on· the other hand, the depictions do present a hierarchical society. Even the heavens have
tiers indicating superior and inferior heavens. The universe was seen to be organised in a
hierarchical manner thus resembling and justifying the social structure. The supernatural
figures represented in the friezes were viewed as part of the population of the universe and
not as mere figments of imagination. This hierarchy in religion would make hierarchy in
real life more acceptable. So it did act as a legitimiser of the hierarchical society.
The emergence of urban society also affected the ways of understanding the
passage oftime. From an abundant undifferentiated flow time had changed into a finite,
directional entity in the service ofBuddhism. The Buddhists had organised the history of
6 In the previous chapter we discussed the inscription2.l and numismatic evidences for the presence of many local rulers.
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Buddhism in a chronological framework. Here was a conceptualisation oftime beyond the
cycle of seasons where an endless number of Bodhisattvas preceded the historical Buddha.
This reorganisation of the religious universe was part of a radical reorganisation of the
social order where some people's lives became more important than those of the rest.
A study of the Sanchi friezes also indicates that the emeregence ofurban centres
had affected the perspective of the artist. The pre-urban world was a universe of
disorganised anarchy. An artist in such a situation would draw things relating to his village
and surroundings. He would not draw the buildings of a distant city The emergence of
urban centres meant the emergence of groups having intluence far exceeding their physical
locale. The artist at Sanchi would not paint the scenes cl· the Sanchi village or for that /
matter, of thousands of s~ttlements falling between San chi and Sravasti.
If we visualise power as more diffuse - as something that informs relationships
economic, political and social - in short the entire cultural universt. we can have a better
understanding of the situation. The areas east of Vidisa \Vere still beyond 1 he pale of
urbanisation We haYe to imagine the Na:!!a populations of th' surTotmdin.':' l!L'<h The
<lrtists of Sa11Chi were relating tales of power In v. itntssing c-ue+ professions utp1ct\. the
people of the surrounding areas \Vere absorbing the' a lues of a highly strati tied soctct\ -
a society where greatness was defined by the ability to donate wealth for decorating the
Stupa or the abilty to wield political power like the kings in the friezes, or. best of all the
ability to renounce a kingdom, once you have it. All these friezes were created in the
context ofthe early centuries ofthc Christian era when many local rulers were struggling
to establish their authority. We have mentioned in the previous chapter that the coins :!Tom
7Even in the time of Samudragupta the areas east of Vidisha were considered
forest kingdoms.
? .. 1 - :J .C
many cities in A vanti have yielded the names of many local rulers. These rulers with shaky
political bases would have found support from these visions of the world order.
Urbanisation made economic and social privileges more visible. The exaltation
of virtues of gift giving, personal loyalty (all those serried ranks of aristocrats), generosity
for ones subject were part of" an operation of the social alchemy where overt physical or
economic violence" was negatively sanctioned (Bourdieu 1977: 192). Power in this society
depended on a son of religious awe which the ruler inspired. It made itself felt by pomp
and grandeur or 2. train of faithful followers.
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